The trade unions had demanded almost 100-120% hike in salaries, according to which, a sweeper in a hospital will have to be paid ₹16,000 as minimum wages, said the association.

The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the release of final notification on fixing minimum wages of nurses. (PTI)

The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the release of final notification on fixing minimum wages of nurses. The stay order came post the state government’s nod to keep the nurses’ wages at par with that of their counterparts in the public sector. Last year, an expert committee set up by the Kerala government for fixing the minimum wages for employees in private hospitals, including nurses recommended to the minimum wages advisory board that nurses be paid the salary decided by the expert committee set up by the government earlier, ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 32,960. The salary would depend on the number of beds in a hospital.

With the committee’s approval, the state government had decided to release the new wage notification by March 31, 2018 that stands delayed now due to high court’s recent ruling. The decision to hold the release of notification was due to a petition submitted by private managements seeking that the notification should not be released soon as the raise demanded by the nurses was too high. Last year, the Kerala Private Hospitals’ Association maintained that the salary raise demanded by nurses as well as trade unions representing other hospital employees was way too high and that hospitals were not in a position to accept them.

The trade unions had demanded almost 100-120% hike in salaries, according to which, a sweeper in a hospital will have to be paid ₹16,000 as minimum wages, said the association. Further, the association alleged that the minimum wages committee had sent its recommendation to the advisory board with their dissent. The Private Hospitals’ Association clarified that any pay structure which is not as per the provisions of the MW Act is not acceptable to them. President of the association P.K.M Rasheed then noted that they would seek legal recourse after the government brings out the new MW notification.